Source: Washington post
MOSCOW — A meteor broke up in the sky Friday morning over the Ural Mountain city of Chelyabinsk, and the shock wave from the explosion smashed windows, collapsed roofs and injured more than 900 people.
The intense flash of light was recorded on video as far away as Nizhny Tagil, nearly 300 miles to the north. The trail of the meteor was also visible in Kazakhstan, more than 80 miles to the south.
Regional Health Minister Marina Mokvicheva in Chelyabinsk said 985 people sought medical help for injuries and 43 were hospitalized.
The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated that the meteor weighed roughly 10 tons and was traveling at 10 to 12 miles per second when it disintegrated.
Searchers found a circular hole in the ice, 15 to 20 feet across, in a lake west of Chelyabinsk, and roped it off.
Residents of Chelyabinsk were drawn outdoors at 9:20 a.m. local time, as a double contrail stretched across the sky. Then came the bright flash, followed a few long moments later by the sound and shock of a huge explosion. Videos posted on Web sites recorded a cacophony of shattering glass, hundreds of car alarms and a considerable amount of swearing.
None of the injuries was considered critical, and no deaths were reported. Doctors at one clinic told a local news Web site, 74.ru, that most of the injuries were either cuts from flying glass or concussions.
MOSCOW — A meteor broke up in the sky Friday morning over the Ural Mountain city of Chelyabinsk, and the shock wave from the explosion smashed windows, collapsed roofs and injured more than 900 people.
The intense flash of light was recorded on video as far away as Nizhny Tagil, nearly 300 miles to the north. The trail of the meteor was also visible in Kazakhstan, more than 80 miles to the south.
Regional Health Minister Marina Mokvicheva in Chelyabinsk said 985 people sought medical help for injuries and 43 were hospitalized.
The Russian Academy of Sciences estimated that the meteor weighed roughly 10 tons and was traveling at 10 to 12 miles per second when it disintegrated.
Searchers found a circular hole in the ice, 15 to 20 feet across, in a lake west of Chelyabinsk, and roped it off.
Residents of Chelyabinsk were drawn outdoors at 9:20 a.m. local time, as a double contrail stretched across the sky. Then came the bright flash, followed a few long moments later by the sound and shock of a huge explosion. Videos posted on Web sites recorded a cacophony of shattering glass, hundreds of car alarms and a considerable amount of swearing.
None of the injuries was considered critical, and no deaths were reported. Doctors at one clinic told a local news Web site, 74.ru, that most of the injuries were either cuts from flying glass or concussions.